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Southeast Division Notebook: Feb. 6, 2013

by
Peter Pupello
/ Tampa Bay Lightning

With the season in full swing and rumblings happening all around the league early on, the Southeast Division is no exception. Here’s a look at some of the key transactions, moves and news occurring around the division:

Southeast Standings, entering Wednesday’s action:

Tampa Bay6-3-0 :: 12 Points

Winnipeg4-4-1 :: 9 Points

Carolina4-4-0 :: 8 Points

Florida3-5-1 :: 7 Points

Washington 2-7-1 : 5 Points

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING

The Lightning are currently playing on the road amidst a four-game road trip that sees them play four times in a span of six days. The trip started Tuesday in Philadelphia, where the Bolts fell 2-1 in a hard-fought effort marked by a valiant comeback attempt. After winning five straight, the Lightning have now dropped two straight, losing each of those games by just a single goal.

Leaders:

Goals: Stamkos (7), Conacher (5), Lecavalier (4)

Assists: St. Louis (11), Stamkos (9), Purcell (8)

Points: Stamkos (16), St. Louis (14), Conacher (12)

Upcoming Games:

Thursday, February 7 at New Jersey

Saturday, February 9 at Boston

Sunday, February 10 at New York Rangers

CAROLINA HURRICANES

The Bolts’ division rivals are currently in the middle of a six-game road trip, having already played each of the first two contests with four more to go. Although the Canes have split the first two games of the trip, overall Carolina has won two of the past three.

The past week has also been characterized by some moves, as Carolina recalled both Tim Wallace and Andreas Nodl from Charlotte of the American Hockey League.

Wallace, a member of the Lightning last season, has notched nine goals and earned 11 assists in 43 games this season with the Checkers, while Nodl, a former Philadelphia Flyers forward, was assigned to Charlotte on January 17 and recorded a goal and three assists four points in five games prior to his recall.

Also on the transaction front, general manager Jim Rutherford sent forward Jeremy Welsh down to Charlotte of the AHL, while former Carolina forward Zach Boychuk was claimed off waivers by the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Leaders:

Goals: E. Staal (7), Skinner (5), Dwyer (3)

Assists: J. Staal (7), Semin (5), Skinner (4)

Points: E. Staal (10), Skinner (9), J. Staal (8)

Upcoming Games:

Thursday, February 7 at Ottawa

Saturday, February 9 at Philadelphia

Monday, February 11 at New York Islanders

FLORIDA PANTHERS

Like the Bolts and Hurricanes, the Panthers are also in the middle of a road trip, having played two of the four games thus far. The Panthers split the first two games of the trip, but have won two of the past three and have picked up at least a point in each of their past three games since losing to the Lightning back on January 29.

General manager Dale Tallon sent up and coming defenseman Erik Gudbranson, as well as forward Mike Santorelli, to San Antonio of the AHL on loan.

Gudbranson, 21, played in 72 games with Florida during his rookie season in 2011-12, scoring two goals with six assists and 78 penalty minutes.

Santorelli, 27, has played in 145 games with Florida, scoring 29 goals with 23 assists. For his career in the NHL, he has played in 177 games with both Nashville and Florida.

Florida also acquired forward Zach Hamill from the Washington Capitals in exchange for Casey Wellman.

Hamill, 24, was selected by the Boston Bruins in the first round, eighth overall, in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. He has appeared in 20 National Hockey League games, all with Boston, registering four assists and four penalty minutes.

Leaders:

Goals: Campbell (4), Mueller (4), Fleischmann (3)

Assists: Fleischmann (5), Kopecky (4), Campbell (3)

Points: Fleischmann (8), Campbell (7), Huberdeau (6)

Upcoming Games:

Thursday, February 7 at Philadelphia

Saturday, February 9 at Washington

Tuesday, February 12 vs. Washington

WASHINGTON CAPITALS

The Capitals find themselves this week approaching four of their next five games on the road. Washington heads to Pittsburgh on Thursday before returning home for one game at the Verizon Center, then hitting the road again for three straight. The Capitals’ slow start to the season hasn’t seemed to pick up just yet, as Washington has just one win in its last five games.

Leaders:

Goals: Ward (4), Ribeiro (3), Brouwer (3)

Assists: Ribeiro (8), Backstrom (7), Chimera (5)

Points: Ribeiro (11), Backstrom (8), Ward (6)

Upcoming Games:

Thursday, February 7 at Pittsburgh

Saturday, February 9 vs. Florida

Tuesday, February 12 at Florida

WINNIPEG JETS

The Jets kicked off a two-game homestand Tuesday, and although the team will play on the road at Ottawa on Saturday, the Jets will return home to play three straight at the MTS Centre.

Winnipeg has lost three of its past four, although offense hasn’t really been an issue, as the Jets have scored exactly three goals in each of their past four contests. But prior to the team’s most recent win on Tuesday, it had allowed four, six, and eight goals, respectively, to opponents in the team’s three previous games.

In the only news on the NHL front, Winnipeg reassigned forward Mark Scheifele to the Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League.

Scheifele, 19, played in four games with the Jets this season bringing his NHL total to 11 games. He will return to Barrie where he has played in 30 games this season with the Colts. In that span, the Kitchener, Ontario native has earned 22 goals, 49 points and 13 penalty minutes to go along with a plus-19 rating. Despite playing his last game with the Colts on January 10, Scheifele still remains fifth on the team in scoring and was riding a three-game points streak before coming to Winnipeg.